The Sythes
by Kat-lady04
Summary: Ten years after the wars ended Duo has created a whole new life for himself as the leader of the toughest street gang on L2 when his past catches up to him completely by accident. Eventual yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: What the kids brought home

A loud commotion in the main entrance drew the Sythes from all corners of the building. Duo walked through the doors to see his second in command, Shadow, backing three of the younger members into a corner. Duo's curiosity poked it's head up, Shadow wasn't the kind of kid that let his temper run often, it took a lot to make him this mad, which was one of the reasons that Duo had chosen him as his second.

"…be so stupid! We don't work like this, and even if we did it wouldn't be from that part of the colony! Shin is gonna skin you alive!" Shadow was red faced and breathing hard by nowwhile the other three had turned white as a sheet and looked like they were going to either wet themselves or pass out. The youngest of the three, Tip, looked up shamefacedly, saw Shin coming toward them, and promptly burst into tears.

"Alright Shadow, what's going on here? Why is Tip crying and why do you think I'm going to skin them?" Duo put his hand on his second's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze to calm the boy.

"These three went into the upper district and kidnapped some guy. They knocked him out, brought him here, and he's in the side room now." Shadow spoke in a rush, obviously wanting to be anywhere than where he was.

"You did what?" Duo asked calmly and turned slowly to face the cowering three. Shin was at his scariest when he was quiet like this. The artificial sunlight glinted off of his violet sunglasses and the boys suddenly understood why rabbits would freeze when a hawk was about to strike. "What in the hell were you _Thinking_! I know you three are newer than most of us, but you have been here long e-freaking-nough to know that the Sythes don't DO kidnappings. Am I gonna have to start over in your training? Do you _want_ to be kicked out? Because that's what it looks like to me when you put the whole gang in danger by doing something stupid like this." By now even Dart was close to tears, to a man the one thing that could scare any of the Sythes was Shinigami's disappointment. They followed him out of love, respect and loyalty, not fear or because they had to and to have him upset with them hurt worse than any physical punishment Shinigami would ever be able to dish out.

"No Shin, Please don't kick us out!" Tip cried. "I'm sorry. It was all my idea, Slip and Dart just went along with me to keep me safe from the Hawks! I'll do whatever I have to do to try and fix this, I'll take whatever punishment you wanna give me but please don't punish them." Tip stood there, the youngest of the three troublemakers, in front of the entire gathering of Sythes, with silent tears still falling and tried to take the fall for his friends. Duo was moved, he remembered long ago dayswhere friends would do that for him.

"We'll talk about this later you three, don't none of you try and hide after this is over, right now we've got a person to put back." Duo smirked slightly at the dumbfounded look on the trio's faces for being let off the hook so easily. "Well,"He sighed "let's get a look at the guy that got himself kyped by three kids." There were some laughs from the older members while Tip, Slip and Dart just gave a weak watery chuckle and a sigh of relief.

With his arm thrown over Shadow's shoulders, Duo walked at the front of the group to see their temporary captive. Duo looked through the slit that served as a peephole for the door and promptly forgot how to breathe. It might have been over ten years since he had last seen that face, but even slack from sleep Duo would have recognized him anywhere. Quatre hadn't changed much at all; He was taller, but that was to be expected, his hair was longer too, now pulled back into a tight ponytail with his bangs hanging in his face hiding his eyes when his head was hanging like it was. Clean shaven, his face had lost all trace of baby fat and he was more handsome than cute.

While he watched, Quatre blinked awake, crunched his eyes against either the light or the headache he must have been feeling and let out a small groan as he raised his head and looked around. The situation seemed to all come back to him however when his attempt to move was stopped by the ropes that bound him to the chair. Duo saw a cold calculation on Quatre's face as he looked around again more carefully, assessing the situation and probably the room for weaknesses and knew that even though it had been a while, Quatre hadn't let his soldiers instincts dull during the years of peace. As though sensing someone watching him, Quatre's eyes shot to the door and caught a pair of eyes watching him through blue/violet tinged glasses. The eyes disappeared abruptly however as their owner jerked away from the door.

Shadow looked on, confused, as Shin, the man who didn't twitch when confronted by the entire Hawk fighting force, went pale as a ghost and froze, staring in horrified fascination into the room for a couple of minutes before jerking back violently and slamming his back to the wall breathing hard.

"Shin?" Shadow asked quietly "You alright man?"

"Shit." Duo breathed out shakily. "Holy fucking shit." The gang stared at Shin waiting for him to elaborate. "Out of all of the people in the entire DAMN colony" Shin started out quiet but quickly increased in volume and turned blazing eyes upon the hapless three who were shrinking back against the wall wishing they could disappear. "You three had to go and kidnap Quatre FUCKING Winner! Are you trying to get us all killed! His bodyguards are gonna tear thisentire colonyapart looking for him!"

"Shin! Calm down. Please, you're scaring everyone." Shadow pleaded, seeing even the oldest members were backing away in the face of Shinigami's anger.

Duo breathed a deep sight and tried to clam himself. Getting worked up was a good way to get either himself or other members of his gang killed. As leader, he couldn't afford to lose focus, first thing's first. "Sniper, Scouter, Eyes-high. I want you three to double the watch. Keep an eye out for anyone new walking around with a small red hat, and especially watch for three guys. They'll be about my age. One's tall and thin with brown hair hanging over half of his face, one is Chinese with his hair pulled back way too tight and the last has dark brown messy hair and blue eyes. You'll be able to spotthem because they'll 'Feel' dangerous. Use you're instincts. They might not make it this far, but with these guys, you can't be too cautious. Trust me."

The three picked out turned and started calling out the names of the backup Watchers as they headed for their posts. Not a single one of the ten Watchers that went questioned Shin, they knew when their leader was serious and they trusted him unquestioningly. If Shin said these guys were tough SOBs then they would be prepared.

"The rest of you just be extra careful today. Stay in groups and watch out for any extra security and those guys I told the Watchers about. Be careful and make sure to come home safe." Shin told the remaining people. "Shadow, you stay here. I've got a special job for you if you're willing." Shin said quietly to the boy at his side while the others left to go about their normal activities. At Shadow's nod, Shin led him to the other side of the room across from the holding cell, as far away from Quatre as possible while still being able to keep an eye on the door.

"Shadow, I need you to do me a huge favor. If you're willing, I want you to be the one to take him back to the upper side. Not all the way, just to Dealer's Alley and turn him over to whoever might be waiting on the other side. I'll get a hold of the bodyguards and let them know he's coming. Keep Qu-Winner safe and try not to let him know his way back here, use as many back-alleys as you need to." Shadow was nodding his head in a duh kind of way but Duo could tell that he was taking everything said to heart. Giving the boy's shoulder a little shake to make sure he had his full and complete attention, Shin's face turned grim. "This is the most important part of the job. I chose you for this because I know I can trust you to be more discrete than anyone else here. Do Not, for any reason, tell him who I am. Don't mention the name of the gang, no physical descriptions, none of my tags, nothing. And be careful around him, he has ways of making you talk about stuff you don't wanna talk about. Just call us the Boss and the Gang when you need to talk about us at all.

"Alright…Boss." Shadow said with a lopsided smirk. "I do know how to be selective with my words remember? I learned it from you after all."

"Smart allic." Smiling back, Duo reached over and tugged gently on Shadow's topknot.

"Hey hey! Back off the hair man!" Shadow yelped, swatting at Shin's hands. Grinning, his hand darted forward and tugged Shin's calf-length braid. He was inordinately pleased with himself with the surprised yipe and mock glare he got from him.

"How'd you get so fast kid?" Duo asked, leading Shadow back towards the 'holding cell' and Shadow just grinned cheekily at him. When they were standing by the door, where Duo could see Quatre but Quatre wouldn't be able to see him, Shadow poked him on the arm to get his attention.

"Hey, Shin? What am I supposed to do if the Hawks jump us? I can defend myself just fine, but what about Blondie?" Shadow couldn't help but ask. He could see into the room at the man tied to the chair, and what he saw didn't impress him much. The guy had gotten himself caught by a thirteen, twelve and nine year old after all. That fact alone didn't ensue much confidence inthe man'sself defense ability. Not to mentionhe looked too soft and innocent to know how to defend himself.

"If it comes down to it, and the situation gets to be bad enough, give him your gun." The look on Shins' face was enough to tell Shadow that he was dead serious.

"What?" Shadow was taken aback by that. "You want me to give him, our captive, my gun if we get into a fight? How do you know that he even knows which end of a gun the bullets come out of? And besides, what if he shoots me?" the former was what bothered Shadow the most, he knew that he could take care of himself in a fight, but the thought of being in one armed only with his knives and a man of unknown ability watching his back unnerved him like nothing else.

"Don't worry. Before you take him back, tell him what the situation is and explain that you are there to help him. Without you as a guide he'd be lost in no time so there's no point in hurting you. He should listen to reason, and besides, you know that I'd never let anyone hurt you right?" Shadow nodded at Shin. He knew that at least two of the gang, maybe even Shinigami himself would be up on the surrounding buildings keeping an eye on the whole 'Return the Hostage' mission. "Oh," Shin said as he turned his head to look at the door hiding Quatre. His voice was thick with dark humor. "And about his ability…Don't worry about that in the least. He can take care of himself just fine.

Waking up with a splitting headache was never Quatre's favorite way to start the day. 'That's it.' He thought 'that's the last time I let Wufei talk me into going drinking with him and Heero, the morning afterjust is notworth it.' Blinking open his eyes he looked around nonplussed and wondered where he'd passed out _this_ time.

When his attempts to stand didn't yield the proper result however, his present situation came rushing back to him. 'Captured.' Flashed through his mind in neon lights. Testing the bonds on his wrists and ankles, Quatre found them distressingly well done. Turning his attention to the rest of the room while still attempting to wriggle out of his bonds Quatre noticed that there was only one window, too high up to reach alone, and barred. There was one door with an eye-slit in it at the opposite wall to him. He only noticed the door out of the corner of his eye until he felt someone watching him. Whipping his head around to stare at the eye slit, Quatre found himself staring into two wide, shocked eyes hidden behind a pair of purple glasses. The glasses and the eyes, who's color they concealed, abruptly jerked away and Quatre could've swore he heard yelling going on outside the door. In moments the noise stopped, irritating Quatre, since he hadn't been able to make out anything that had been said.

Resigning himself to his fate, Quatre mentally preparing himself for what was probably to come. He knew the drill; abduction, intimidation, possible abuse, ransom, rescue by the guys (or self rescue), exact revenge…the usual. If these kidnappers thought they were being creative they were in for a surprise. He was not in the mood to play games and he was kicking himself for falling for their ploy. Damsel in Distress technique except with little kids, should've seen through that one, Heero'd never let him live this down. Quatre was sure that he was prepared for anything that came through the door to deal with him, be it Big-and-Burly-Bad-Guyto Evil-Megalomaniac-I'll-Kill-All-You-Gundam-Bastards-Bwahahaha. He'd seen it all. Or so he thought.

Quatre tensed slightly when the door began to open, steadying himself for whoever or whatever came through the door…and blinked in shock when a kid walked into the room as calmly as you please with a pleasant smile on his face. Definitely not the norm. the kid walked unhurriedly toward Quatre's bound form with the feline grace of a thief, or an assassin, before stopping just out of lunging distance.

"Hullo," He said with a smile. "My name's Shadow. We need to talk."

End Part One

6

A/N: Just in case the name thing gets confusing, Duo is used when he's thinking or when the story goes from his point of view, Shin or Shinigami are used when anyone else is talking to/refering to him. Nobody knows Shin's real name, not even Shadow.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Trust issues

"First things first Mr. Winner." Shadow said politely to the still bound Quatre. "On behalf of myself and the whole gang, I would like to say I'm sorry about this whole mess and that we are extremely embarrassed by the actions of our littles." Shadow shook his head and sighed in exasperation. "They thought they were doing a good thing and they will be punished for their actions." He looked up at Quatre and noticed that the blond's eyebrows were almost to his hairline, good, he'd gotten his attention.

"Well, this is different." Quatre said in a bemused tone of voice. "So then, what happens now?" He wondered if they would just take the opportunity and run with the plan to ransom him back as a hostage, or…well, he couldn't really think of what else they would do.

"We're taking you back of course." Shadow said in an 'isn't it obvious' tone of voice. "There's a catch though" Shadow's voice turned serious again.

'Here it comes' Quatre thought sardonically, now for the ransom demands.'

"If we are going to be able to get you back to where you belong in one piece I'm going to have to ask you to cooperate with us in every way. I will be the one leading you back, through enemy territory might I add, and without an escort you'd be lost in a minute flat. So trying to get away and go back on your own would be a very bad idea."

Quatre was shocked. No threats, no ransom demands, just an apology and an escort home, this was defiantly new. One thing was bugging him though. "How do I know I can trust you? I don't know you, and your gang members were the ones that kidnapped me in the first place!"

Shadow looked slightly insulted. "Hey, I may steal and fight but I never lie! None of the gang does, our leader would never allow it." He stood up straight with his feet firmly planted, his hands on his hips and his head held high, utter conviction and self assurance pouring from him in waves.

For some reason the pose looked familiar to Quatre but he couldn't place where he'd seen it from before. He tried reaching out with his space heart to test the young man's trustworthiness and came up short when he ran into what felt like a wall surrounding Shadows' mind. Quatre was amazed, this boy, who looked no older than fourteen had shielding around himself that was almost as complete as his own, it felt like a smooth wall that was hard and flexible at the same time. He found himself wondering who had taught the boy or if he was self-taught before he hauled his train of thought back on track. This was no time to be woolgathering, get back to the guys and then he could think about the strange boy as much as he wanted.

"How do you know you can trust me?" Quatre asked. "Even though you don't lie doesn't mean that I don't. I could turn you in to the cops as soon as we get back." He knew he wouldn't if the boy stuck to his word but all in all he figured it was a fair question.

"You won't." Shadow said matter of factly. "The boss said that I could trust you if you agreed to the plan, so I will."

"You'd trust your boss that much?" Quatre asked incredulously, impressed in spite of himself by the level of loyalty this 'Boss' inspired in his people.

"He's my dad. I trust him with my life and everything else."

While Quatre was still letting that sink in there were two sharp knocks on the door. When he looked he once again saw the violet lens covered eyes at the eye slit, they were only visible for a second but Quatre was sure they had darted to him before they disappeared once again.

"Alright." Shadow said abruptly. "That's that. So what's your choice gonna be Mr. Winner? Are you going to trust me and go home or are you going to be stubborn and wander off by yourself?" Shadow was both chipper and expectant. It seemed like he couldn't wait to get started, he even began bouncing on the balls of his feet slightly with his hands on the back of his head and a smile on his face. Again Quatre felt a strange sense of déjà vu, why did this scene feel so familiar? Whatever it was was enough to sway Quatre's decision.

"Ok, let's go."

Shadow grinned widely. "Cool, you won't regret this Mr. Winner." He said as he stepped forward and started undoing the knots, in a matter of seconds Quatre was free and rubbing the feeling back into his wrists while standing up and stomping his feet a bit to return full circulation to his feet.

"Please," Quatre said, smiling at the youth. "Call me Quatre. I think the whole kidnapping/taking me home thing kinda voids all need for formalities."

"Alright, Quat're, will do." Shadow said with a slightly toothy grin and somehow Quatre got the feeling that he had just opened the floodgates on a bunch of new nicknames. Again with the déjà vu. Wonderful, just bloody wonderful. He was starting to get sick of that feeling and he had a hunch it was only going to get worse as the day went on.

Shadow went to the door and opened it enough to stick his head out, across the room he spotted Shin watching the door and gave him a quick thumbs up to let him know that Quatre had agreed to the plan. Shin smiled, nodded, pointed upward with three fingers at the ceiling and faded back into the shadows.

'Good,' Shadow thought. 'We'll have backup from the rooftops.' "Come on Quatre, let's get you home before you family worries about you too much." He said, waving Quatre toward the door.

They left the small holding cell and walked toward one of the side doors at the other end of the entryway. To Quatre it looked like a smallish warehouse with doors everywhere and a second level above them, every now and then he could catch the sound of whispers, though they were able to walk unhindered through the door into an alley way. Out in the alley there was another surprise waiting for them. Three familiar boys where waiting with hangdog expressions on their faces. The youngest of the boys stepped forward when the door closed behind them.

"Sorry." He whispered looking very kicked puppy-ish and fiddling nervously with the blue tie on his short, shoulder length black braid. "It'll never happen again, I promise. Sorry."

There was no way Quatre could stay mad or even upset when faced with that look. It made him feel like he'd just told the kid that Santa Clause was dead. "It's alright. As long as you promise this was a one time thing we'll call it good, ok?" He asked quietly, not wanted to scare the boy off.

At Quatre's words the boy's face split into a grin. "K!" He chirped as he dashed back to where the other two boys where waiting for him "Thanks mister!" he called as he waved and all three disappeared behind some boxes.

Quatre heard a chuckle and turned his head to see Shadow shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "That kid, I swear…" He sighed fondly and reached out to tug lightly on Quatre's sleeve. "C'mon, let's get out of here before they come back and try to pick your pockets or something."

"They'd do that?" Quatre asked surprised. "Even after all this?"

"Hey, they promised not to try and kidnap anybody again, they never said anything about the other stuff, you're fair game for pick pocketing." Shadow was trying to look serious but the twinkle in his blue eyes gave him away.

Quatre sighed 'Kids.' He figured that pretty much summed it up right there.

Shadow had the route they would take to Dealers Alley all planned out in his head, they would have to pass through about four different gang territories and only three of them were on friendly terms with the Sythes. The fourth gang, the Hawks, were definitely non-friendly. They hated the Sythes as much as the Sythes hated them Where the Sythes were like a family group or a pack of wolves, for a better analogy, with a definitive hierarchy and all age groups from babies to oldsters accounted for, the Hawks valued strength above all else. They had no honor and no scruples. This, Shinigami could have overlooked and they might have been at least on toleratable terms except for one big thing. If a member of the Hawks wanted something, or more importantly someone, it didn't matter who they were or how old, the Hawk would take them. It had only taken once but once was enough for the Hawks to have earned the Sythes eternal hatred. They had taken one of the littles and by the time Shinigami and the Sythes had found the girl it was too late to save her. They found out who had done the evil deed later, when the leader's brother had tried to emulate his big brother by attempting the same vileness with another young one from the gang. This time though the outcome was vastly different.

The Hawk overlooked three very important details when he attempted the abduction, all of them crucial to his continued survival. Mistake number one, he didn't realize that the Sythes had learned from the previous tragedy and no one was allowed to travel alone besides Shinigami himself, the smallest group that could leave their headquarters (affectionately called the Den) was three whenever the littles where involved, two adults could go by themselves and in some special cases an adult and an older kid where allowed to go in pairs but that was it.

Mistake number two was when he attempted the abduction of the then nine year old Shadow, it never occurred to him to fear the wiry, braided man next to him. And finally, mistake number three, the worst mistake the Hawk made thus far, he didn't know enough to fear the wrath of Shinigami. He knew the name, and he knew the reputation, but he didn't know how true the stories really were. That was the mistake that he would regret for the rest of his very short life.

When what was left of the Hawk was found by the others in his gang he was hardly recognizable. Only his necklace, the gang's identifying mark was untouched and the leader was able to identify the broken thing as his youngest brother. He was beyond angry that someone would dare to attack a member of his gang like that, until he turned the bloody lump over and saw the note nailed to his brother's forehead.

"This is your one and only warning." The note said in bold, clear penmanship. "Do _not_ let anymore of your damn baby-raping son-of-a-bitch members on to our territory or all you'll get back will be pieces." The Hawk leader's hand trembled in rage until he saw the signature and the P.S., then the shaking became from fear. There, written in the dead Hawks own blood was the name Shinigami. "P.S." the note continued. "Before this piece of crap died, he told me all about what you did to Em. Be warned, nobody messes with what is mine. I'm coming for you, get your affairs in order and assign a new leader for your gang, you're just a walking around dead man."

The leader had immediately ordered the guard tripled and set everyone on alert, waiting for Shinigami to strike. He took the note's advice though and named his remaining brother as the next leader. None of the preparations and extra guards made a bit of difference though, when the next morning cycle began the leader was found dead in his room, his throat slit with a note on the pillow that read, "Justice is served". The majority of the Hawks, in a rare show of intelligence previously unheard of for them, learned from the mistakes made by the past leader and never attempted to snatch any child from the Sythes' territory again. That didn't stop them from doing it elsewhere and there were always one or two that were dumber than the rest that would try, but for the most part they left the Sythes alone. And, as a rule they left Shinigami alone completely, nobody wanted to be on_ his_ bad side.

'Oh yeah,' Shadow thought sardonically 'This is gonna be fun.' "Let's go." He said, tugging slightly on the blond's arm. "The sooner we get you back the better." All he could do now was hope that the Hawks would be busy with something else and not notice them. A slim hope but, meh, couldn't hurt.

* * *

And so ends chapter two, took me long enough I know, but at least I have the next chapter all down on paper. All that's left is to get it on the computer. Some things brought up in this chapter will be explained sooner than others, just be patient with me please. As always please read and review, the reviews are what make the plotbunnies come back. 

-Kat


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A little birdie told me

To say police chief Sean O'Neil was nervous about recent events in his area of L2 would be a gross understatement. Not only had _The_ Quatre Raberba Winner-Barton been kidnapped practically under the noses of his bodyguards, but he now had said billionaire's husband and best friends/heads of security standing before him glaring at him from across his desk. Why couldn't the colony ever open up and suck you out into space when you wanted it too? Being glared at by three very angry ex-Gundam pilots was far from the top of his 'Fun things to do' list, right below juggling flaming chainsaws blindfolded.

"I can assure you gentlemen that my department and I are doing everything in our power to find Mr. Winner, but there hasn't been any ransom made yet and no clues as to who took him." He said, trying not to let his anxiety show as Trowa Barton-Winner placed both hands on his desk and leaned forward, his glare deepening.

"You and your department have one hour. If you can't find him by then, we will." He said quietly, not a threat, just a fact.

That very thing was what the chief had been afraid of since Mr. Winner had gone missing, having these three tearing apart the colony looking for their friend definitely wasn't a good idea. Their track record at leaving places unscathed wasn't exactly the best.

"Please bear with us a while longer." O'Neil asked, raising his hands in entreaty. "There is one route that we haven't tried yet. We usually save it as a last resort."

His claim was met by three raised eyebrows. Taking this as the sign to continue that it was he wiped his slightly sweaty palms on his uniform pants legs.

"There are some people that we can contact and get their help. If anyone can find Mr. Winner it will be them. They know every nook and cranny of L2 and everything that goes on in the streets."

"Why haven't you contacted them before now?" Wufei demanded, increasing the intensity of his steely glare and the Chief heaved a huge sigh and hid his wince.

"Because, Mr. Chang, the group that I'm talking about aren't exactly on the same side of the law that we are."

"You mean they are criminals." It wasn't a question.

"Aye. But we have a deal, their leader and I, they help when we need them too, we look the other way when the members of their gang do minor crimes. As long as no one gets hurt. The worst they do is pick pocketing and shoplifting unless a gang war breaks out, then they do all they can to keep innocents out of it. That's more than I can say for the majority of the other gangs." The chief was almost nonchalant as he explained all this to the stunned pilots.

"It is completely unjust that you would look the other way in _any_ crime, no matter how small." Wufei said, looking stunned that the man would freely admit to such dirty dealings.

"That's L2." The chief said with a shrug. "We've learned to get by however we can."

"And you would trust this gang's leader enough for this? How do you know he won't just keep Quatre for whatever ransom he can get?" This was the first time the chief had heard Heero speak up.

"I would only trust this gang. They never lie, it's a matter of honor with them, and they don't tolerate kidnappings, especially their boss. That's one of the reasons we use their help with kidnappings, he hates them."

"Who are these people that could gain this much trust from you? What is the leaders name?" Heero figured that if they were well enough known he would be able to hack into the L2 police records and find out anything else he needed to know.

"The leaders name is" He was abruptly cut off by a sharp knock on the window behind the desk causing the chief to jump a little in startlement. The three pilots could only stare as the chief walked to the window and opened the blinds with one thought running through all three minds at once.

'We're on the third floor…'

The answer to how there was a knock on the window three stories high came when the chief pulled up the blinds to reveal the upside down face of a little red haired boy wearing a twisty head band that was a mix of blue, black and purple. It clashed horribly with his red hair.

"Hiya Chiefy!" The little imp chirped. "Got some news for you from the boss."

"Damnit Pup! What have I told you about hanging down from the roof like that? One of these days your sister's gonna lose her grip." The chief scowled while at the same time inwardly amused at the shocked faces of the three ex-pilots.

"So, what's the news? And get in here before all the blood runs to that empty head of yours."

"Nope. I think I'll stay out here for right now if you don't mind." The afor-named Pup was staring at the three strangers in the chief's office warily. He recognized them from Shinigami's descriptions and there was no way in Hell that he'd be caught in a room with people that even Shinigami was worried about. He waved the chief forward so that he could whisper his news to the chief alone.

The three watched as the little redhead, still hanging upside down outside the window, whispered to the chief for a minute, leaned back to give them all a grin and a wave, and then he was gone. Presumably pulled back up to the roof by his sister. The chief gave a heavy sigh, though whether from aggravation or from relief they couldn't tell.

"Well, that would be AllyPup. He's a member of the gang I was just telling you about actually and he had some good news. It seems that they already have Mr. Winner in their possession and are bringing him back to you as we speak." The chief watched as a look of relief and happiness flooded all three faces for a moment before continuing. "Shadow, their second in command is bringing him to the meeting place, a place where we always go to exchange information, and sometimes captives called Dealers Alley. It's neutral territory, we stay on our end and they stay on theirs, that way no one feels threatened by the other side. It's a good system. According to AlleyPup they should be there in about an hour or so. It'll take us twenty minutes to get there so we should probably leave soon, that bunch is usually early for these meetings."

"Wait." Heero said as the chief stood and started for the door. "You never told us the leaders' name or the name of the gang." He was itching to start researching this group who, apparently, were even better than the chief claimed they were.

"I know. Part of AlleyPup's message was for me not to. Apparently he doesn't want you to know who he is, I don't know why but I'm not one to go against his requests."

"You mean to tell us that just because a little boy told you not to, you refuse to let us know who has our friend?" Wufei growled.

"Yes. If he wants it kept a secret, for whatever reason, I'm not going to tell."

Wufei growled at the finality in his tone of voice but was unable to do anything about it as they walked through the police station to the car parked just outside that was waiting for them.

The cops on duty turned to stare as three of the infamous Gundam Pilots stalked through their department, making sure to have a clear path before them. Nobody wanted to get in their way when they looked as intimidating as they did.

Rashid had wanted to be with them when they talked to the police about finding Quatre but had relented to staying in the car, waiting by the cell phone for any sort of contact from Quatre's kidnappers. As soon as he saw the three men and the police chief approaching the limo he started the engine. Now, maybe they would finally be able to _do_ something.

With Rashid driving it only took around fifteen minutes to arrive at the appointed spot. With a good forty-five minutes left before Quatre was supposed to arrive, there was nothing left to do but wait…and comb over every square inch of the alley looking for any possible place that could be used to ambush them. Hey, they might be older but they were still somewhat paranoid.

End Chapter 3

AN/ Sorry for this being so short, I wanted to get back to Shadow and writingthis chapter was like pulling teeth. Don't worry, Wufei isn't going to be a justice freak or anything I just couldn't help myself.

And I know this is belated but I would really like to thank the following for reviewing. You guys have no idea how squee-ish that made me. Well, Fei and Erin know, they had to listen to me gush every time I got a new review.

Thank you – Niharana, Makurayami Ookami, Whoever does the moremoremore (I laugh and grin like an idiot when you review, thanks), Pink Feline, camillian, April Aries (the ages will be reviled pretty soon.) Tatsu Satsuki (Thank you for pointing out the headache thing, I kinda spaced out on that), and YamiEmmy.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Sharp pointy objects and nicknames

"Hey, Shadow?"

"Yeah Kitty?"

"Kitty?"

"Yeah, I'm trying to find a good nickname for you. So what'd you want?"

"How old are you?"

"Um…'bout fifteen I think. Why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering. Do you know how to fight?"

Shadow looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "Of course. Probably better than you do. The boss himself taught me how to fight. Why'd you wanna know anyway?"

"Because I think we're being followed."

"You spotted 'em too?"

"Yes. Any idea who they might be?"

"Yep, they'd probably be the Hawks. And they don't like me much. I'd give 'em about another block before they try anything so, here." He pulled out his gun and slipped it into Quatre's hand.

Quatre looked at Shadow, shocked that the boy would give him his gun. "You sure about this?" He asked as he tuckedit into the back of his pants.

"Yeah, the boss said you'd be a good shot and that I'd be able to trust you not to shoot me. Just try not to get yourself killed, I don't wanna get blamed for it if you get hurt."

"I'll try not to inconvenience you."

"'Preciate it."

As predicted, a block later they found their way barred by a group of eight men. All of them glaring at the duo.

'I knew it,' Shadow thought 'I knew I shouldn't have jinxed it.' He looked around at the people that were blocking the alley in front of them. "Shit." He muttered, drawing Quatre's attention away from the group.

"What?" He asked, knowing these guys were the enemy by their emotions alone, but he wanted to know how much trouble they were in.

"I was right. Those would be the Hawks, or at least some of them. This is bad, could be worse, but it's still bad." Shadow took a deep breath to calm himself. "That guy in the middle there, with the double feather tattoo under his left eye, that's their leader. And he hates my guts."

"How could it be worse then?"

"You'll see."

"Well well well. Lookie 'ere boys, if it isn't little Shirt-tails come out to play." The leader sneered. "What're you doin this far ouside your turf? And without your "daddy" to back you up too." He stood with his hands on his hips, his posture radiating smug bravado.

"The name," Shadow gritted out through clenched teeth. "is Shadow you stupid fucker. Even you should be able to remember _that_ much at least. After all, we carved it into that piece of shit's forehead before we sent it back to you." He smirked as the leader turned red with anger.

"That was my brother you little bastard! One day I'll kill you for what you did to both of my brothers. You and that damned leader of yours."

"Not this day you won't, I can guarantee you that Nickoli." Shadow said, his voice deathly calm.

"Oh? An just who's gonna stop me? You're all alone 'cept for blondie over there, and he don't look like much."

Out of the corner of his eye Shadow saw Quatre stiffen in anger and shift slightly into a fighting stance, feet braced and shoulders squared. Shadow's opinion of the blond rose with that one move. He hadn't gone for his gun and started waving it around as he'd half feared he would. Maybe Shin hadn't been exaggerating on how much grit this guy had.

Though tempted to get into a brawl just to see how good Quatre really was, he figured that Shin would have his head for it. So instead Shadow just said, with a smug I-Know-Something-You-Don't-Know look on his face.

"Who said we were alone?"

The reaction was immediate as the Hawks started glancing all around, in alleyways, the rooftops, behind cars, everywhere in the surrounding area.

Quatre could tell by the look on his face that Shadow was enjoying the Hawks growing apprehension as they failed to catch sight of anyone. He had to admit, if only to himself, that the idea of having people skillful enough at stalking that not even _he_ knew they where there was slightly unnerving.

"Fine." The leader snarled, taking slow careful steps backwards. "We'll call this done for now, but someday soon you're finally gonna get what's comin' to you."

"More than likely." Shadow said with obviously false cheerfulness before dropping the act all together and his face fell into a glare. "But not by you."

Quatre watched in fascination as the Hawk group, as a whole backed up slowly never leaving their backs exposed and watching the rooftops and alleyway. Nickoli keeping his gaze firmly locked with Shadows. When they had backed up three paces it was obvious that there was one Hawk that wasn't backing up, or down and his expression made it clear that he didn't believe Shadow.

"I'm not gonna fall for that you little punk, there's nobody else around to save you and I think I can take both of you by myself." He was one of the Hawks' newest members and wasn't street-wise enough to know to follow the crowd and stay safe. But he was about to learn.

Quatre prepared himself to fight, he might have the gun but against the one man it wouldn't be necessary. After knowing Heero, Trowa, and Wufei for as long as he had there was no way he wouldn't have learned how to defend himself by now. He knew that he could hold his own and was, most likely, better than the seven-foot brute before him but if the others attacked he wanted to be able to get Shadow to safety, pacifism be damned, he'd use the gun if he had to. Kidnapper-allied or not he wasn't going to stand by and watch a fifteen year old kid get attacked.

All this flashed through his mind in a heartbeat as the loud-mouthed Hawk took a single step toward them. Faster than thought, a silver blur flashed next to Quatre's head, the wind moving the hairs on the side of his face a little, and the Hawk stopped dead in his tracks.

The reason for his sudden stop was obvious when, as one, they all looked down to his feet and there, nailing his shoe to the ground at the toe, was a black-handled throwing knife, the blade alone easily the length of Quatre's hand from fingertip to the heal of his palm. There were black, purple, and blue streamers attached to the hilt that matched the colors on Shadow's headband perfectly marking it as belonging to his gang.

"Bill?" Nickoli called out, a slightly worried tone to his voice. "You aright?" He could see the knife sticking out of the shoe but expected more of a fuss out of the man.

Bill meanwhile, was staring at shock down at his foot and was only able to squeak out, "Yeah" he coughed to clear his throat "It's between my toes." He could feel the razor sharp edge of the knife pressing lightly to the skin between his big toe and the next.

While Quatre could only stare in shock at the amount of skill that shot must have required Shadow burst out laughing.

"Next time you'll listen won't you." He said, his eyes twinkling madly.

Bill bent down and, very carefully, pulled the knife from his shoe and dropped it like it was a snake. Without a word and his eyes still wide enough to see the whites in shock, he turned and ran to where the other Hawks where. As one they hurried away, keeping their eyes to the rooftops, now knowing for sure that they were being watched.

Still chuckling slightly Shadow looked to Quatre to gage the man's reactions, wanting to see the look on his face so he could tell Shin later, and he wasn't disappointed in the least. Quatre's mouth hung open slightly and his eyebrows were almost to his hair line. His next words shocked Shadow almost as much though.

"Holy Shit! That was impressive." (1) Shadow hadn't thought the blond even knew how to cuss, much less be impressed with the display. Quatre Winner was renowned for his peace-mongering ways. 'Hmm, looks like Kitty might have some claws after all.' It was definitely something to keep in mind.

Shadow puffed up a little with pride. "That's why they know better than to mess with us." He paused for a moment. "Well, at least they do now. And as for your question on how it could have been worse, we could actually have _been_ alone. Then it would have been worse."

"True, but how did the leader…Nickoli? How did he know that we weren't traveling alone? Only the big guy thought you were bluffing. Why?"

"It's a well known fact that my gang don't tell lies. When I said we weren't alone they knew that I meant it. That big dope is new, he'll learn or he'll end up dead before too awful long." 'Won't be much of a waste' He thought, not adding it because he thought Quatre might be offended.

Shadow slipped the throwing knife into a sheath at his waist where it joined another just like it and sighed as his adrenaline rush ebbed. "Lets go Kattily-Whompus, we should be there in about fifteen minutes if we hurry." Quatre just sighed at the newest nickname. Looks like he'd only have to deal with Shadow mangling his name for a little while longer.

Damn that Déjà vu.

* * *

There were no further problems during the last leg of the trip and as predicted, it only took fifteen minutes until they were looking at the mouth of Dealers Alley. Shadow had kept up a steady line of chatter and Quatre was surprised to find that he didn't want their trip to end just yet. There was something so familiar about the boy that he just couldn't put his finger on, but whatever it was made him feel remarkably comfortable around him, as though he'd known him from somewhere before and it was frustrating that he couldn't remember. It was almost like he could predict some of the things the boy was going to say or do before he did it, and his impressive mental shields weren't helping either. He still couldn't get a decent read on him. 

"Alrighty, here's the Alley. Now all we'll have to do is get you to the people on the other side and you'll be home free." Shadow was happy that he'd been able to accomplish the task with minimal difficulty and was looking forward to seeing the rest of the Gundam Pilots in the flesh. It was common knowledge who the Gundam pilots where but not where they were at any point in time. All that was really known about their personal lives was that Quatre Winner and Trowa Barton were married and it was speculated that Heero Yuy and Chang Wufei were together. Nobody knew what happened to Duo Maxwell though, he'd vanished soon after the Eve war.

"How do you know that there are going to be people waiting for us? They have no idea where I am." Quatre had been wondering about this for a little while now, knowing he could find his way back to their hotel eventually if his guide left him here but he was worried about how his friends and lover were taking his disappearance with no word from him by now.

"Don't worry about it, the boss sent word on ahead of us to the police chief, somebody will be there waiting for you, trust me." Shadows smile turned reassuring as he grabbed Quatre's hand and led him toward the alleyway thinking that Quatre was feeling out of his element.

When they turned the corner they saw a limo parked at the other end, blocking it off from the street, effectively keeping their business semi-private. Down at the other end Quatre could see Trowa, Heero and Wufei along with Rashid and a policeman that he didn't recognize, but Shadow did.

"Hey Chief! How ya doin'?" Shadow called, waving at the chief of police while sizing up the other men. Damn but that one guy was big, looked like he could break the car in half if he wanted to.

"Doing much better now that you're here Shadow. Usual procedure?" Chief O'Neil asked, putting out a hand to stop Trowa from walking into the alley. There were rules to this sort of thing after all.

"'Course, how else would we do anything." They started walking at the same time, Shadow and Quatre from one end and Trowa and the Chief from the other. Chief O'Neil waved the others back as they made moves to follow, he'd told them in the car on the way over that they wouldn't be allowed to enter the alley once the 'trade' as it was had started. The rules stated that only an equal amount of people could enter from each end, if any more than that joined in it could ruin any sort of good faith that one side held for the other.

Realizing that this should be a private meeting between the couple the chief stopped about a quarter of the way in, letting them have their moment together. Shadow kept going with Quatre though, he had his orders to deliver the man to his people and by golly that was what he was going to do. He saw the way Trowa was eyeing Quatre, making sure there was nothing wrong or missing on his husband and Shadow's inner voice started making 'Awwww' noises at him.

Stepping up to Trowa before he could get within touching distance of Quatre, Shadow looked up (and up) into Trowa's eyes for a long moment as though looking into his soul before apparently finding what he was looking for, nodded and turned to Quatre. "This your guy?" Never tell Shadow that he wasn't thorough.

Quatre smiled. "Yes, this is my husband Trowa. Trowa, I'd like you to meet Shadow. He's been a great help in getting me back." Acting on impulse he reached out and ruffled Shadow's bangs getting a chuckle and a squirm out of the boy. He thought he heard a quiet "Not the hair." But he couldn't be sure.

Trowa shook hands with Shadow and thanked him in his quiet voice before Shadow placed Quatre's hand in his. "There, now I'm done. I said I would bring you back and I did so, see ya!" He turned and started walking back toward his end of the alley. After only a handful of steps though he turned back around. "Take care Cat! Don't forget to keep an eye on your wallet!" He gave one more slightly manic grin, waved with his whole arm and spun around again, his braid making an arc in the air before whipping behind him as he ran, looking almost like a shoulder length tail.

Quatre and Trowa stared after the boy from each others arms and thought the same thing.

'Why does that seem so familiar.'

* * *

From the rooftops Shinigami watched the scene with a smile on his face. The two people that had accompanied him in watching over Shadow and his charge keeping watch. Tank, the oldest of the three at forty was keeping watch for any enemies that might try and break up the reunion below while Skif, the youngest at fifteen-ish was keeping an eye on his boyfriend as Shadow exited the alley and started on his way back home. Shin couldn't have hoped for a better pair of lookouts. 

Looking down on the happy scene below him in the alley Duo could see the changes in the boys he once knew, now men of twenty-seven they looked completed, no longer in the 'puppy' stage that he had last seen them in. And in some weird twisted way he was happy that his littles had kidnapped Quatre. Even if it was only for a moment, and even with the strange circumstances that it had all come about, he was happy. He'd missed them.

It was good to be able to see his family in person again.

End chapter four.

* * *

A/N: Well, chapter four is finally done. Sorry it took so long to get out but there was one line (1) that would. Not. Figure itself out. Finally pairings and ages are revealed, I was trying to find a place that felt right to put the ages in so it took a while but there you have it. Duo and the guys are twenty-seven. After that it went ok. Hopefully it won't take as long for chapter five to be done but no promises. 

Thank you very much to everybody that reviewed! Those things keep me writing and help goose the plotbunnies.

Please Review, it keep the day sunny!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 : Punishments and talks about the past.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

//Sign language//

--- Scene change

Turning away from the touching reunion below, Shinigami beckoned for his companions to follow him. Setting a brisk pace, they traveled across the rooftops for a few blocks before climbing effortlessly down a fire escape and joining Shadow on the ground.

"It's almost six. Do you guys want to go and pick up the others or head back home?" Shin asked, just now realizing the time. Shadow glanced at Skif before nodding.

"We'll go with you; neither of us have anything going on till about eight."

"Tank?"

"Might as well - I've gotta talk to Fred about something anyway."

"K, let's go then. We'll start at the grocery store and work our way back," Shin said, and the pre-arranged pick-up route was set.

Duo thought that creating the pre-arranged pick-up routes was one of his better ideas. It combined pack safety (i.e.: nobody travels alone) with grocery shopping and other chores. Every night around six, whoever thought about it (sometimes more than one outgroup) would pick a route that would wind around the various stores, shops, and businesses that employed Sythes members, collect said members and whatever was needed for the next day and then head back to the Den together.

Back when Shinigami first started the Sythes, he decided that they were going to be as little of a burden as they possibly could be on the community, hence the very odd working relationship between the storekeepers and the Sythes.

Shinigami, in essence, ran a protection racket without the racket. In exchange for the store hiring a known gang member, they were almost guaranteed that no shoplifting or robberies would occur. And if, by chance, a member of the Hawks or one of the smaller gangs tried anything, the Sythes had ways of calling for reinforcements to help. It was a good system that benefited everyone and some of the shopkeepers were more than happy to let the younger Sythes practice shoplifting at their stores as long as they wrote down what they took and either brought it back or worked it off. This system had been Shadow's brain child - one that Shin was especially proud of - and had a duel purpose. The shopkeepers liked it because it kept them on their toes - they never knew when one of the Sythe littles would strike until they found a note stuck to the inside of the front door. If at any time during the attempt the kid was caught the game was over and the kid had instant bathroom cleaning duty so they had enough of an incentive not to get caught. The first time Shadow was caught and had to clean the bathrooms, he stole the toilet paper, thus winning the round after all.

The last stop on their route was the free hospital, only about six blocks from the Den. The hospital had been around since before the Sythes ever formed and was one of the three neutral zones in their area of L2 - the others being the school and churches in general. The neutral zones were strictly enforced by everyone; good-guy or bad-guy, they all behaved to the best of their ability when in a neutral zone. If any gang broke The Rule and shed blood in a neutral zone the other gangs would group together and scrape the offending gang from the inside of L2 (colony version of "wipe so and so off the face of the Earth.").

The original group of four that had left the Den had increased to nine by the time they returned. It was nearly everyone's day off so pick-up had been completed quickly. They were hailed four times by different groups of Watchers before they reached the Den and Shin nodded in approval upon finding that everybody was still in their places, the call for reinforcements for the sentries still in effect. Duo knew his people would still be on their guard, but it was nice to have the fact proven to him again.

As soon as they passed the main entrance, a smallish opening in the left side of the building (the main doors to the warehouse had been welded shut years before), all of the nine scattered, each going to take care of whatever they had to before dinner.

Every night, circumstances permitting, the Sythes would all eat dinner together. Of course, the Watchers were expected to stay at their posts, but the shifts changed enough during the week that at least twice a week everyone got a chance to eat with the whole "family". It gave everyone a chance to catch up on news and gossip, helped reaffirm the family bonds, gave the kids a more solid foundation to grow on and gave them a chance to show off what they had learned to the adults. Duo had found out early on, when he had first taken in more kids than just Shadow, that if the little hellions had at least one time a day that they had his undivided attention, they weren't as likely to act up to get it.

---

Dinner was never a quiet affair. With over fifty people in the gang ranging from the babies to oldsters, quiet was a state rarely occurring in the Den. When Shinigami stood up at the end of dinner, however, silence fell thick and heavy over the group, and all eyes focused on their leader.

"Tip, Slip, Dart, come over here. We need to talk." The three got up from their seats around the room and headed for Shinigami's seat, feeling nervous as all hell and trying to control their blushes at being the center of attention for the second time that day. They stood there before Shin, their heads hanging, awaiting their punishment. "You know what you did was wrong, yes?" They nodded. "Do you know _why_ it was wrong?" They nodded again. "Tell me." It was not a request.

Tip took a fortifying breath before answering. "We broke the rules. We put the family in danger from Mr. Winner's friends and we risked our working relationship with the cops." Shin nodded and turned his head to look at Slip. The older boy flinched slightly from being singled out but answered the unspoken command.

"We brought a stranger into the Den. Even if he was knocked out comin' here, he wasn't when he left. Even with Shadow takin' him back, he could still 'member how to get here." Shin nodded again before looking pointedly at Dart. While wishing he could be anywhere than where he was, Dart answered.

"Me an' Slip shoulda talked Tip out of it. We're older than him and it was our responsibility to keep him safe and in line. We failed in that duty and put everyone at risk." Shin nodded his agreement with their answers, his face carefully blank, giving nothing away as he looked at the three before him, ignoring the crowd of people watching from the background. This was a lesson for everyone, not just the three littles.

"I'm glad you guys used your time to think this through. You've hit on almost all of the reasons why I'm mad at you for doing what you did. All three of you missed the big one though. If you had tried that stunt with someone else, someone who wasn't as inclined to go easy on littles as Winner is, you could have been hurt or even killed trying to catch him and we never would have known what had happened." He locked eyes with the three before him and they saw how much the thought troubled him. "Do you have any idea how much it would hurt all of us to lose you? You have to be more careful out there. I was serious when I threatened to have you retrained. You three were damn lucky it was Winner you snitched but there will _**Never**_ be a next time, got it?" The three nodded quickly and in his peripheral vision Duo could see others nodding along. "This is your one and only warning on this. I love you guys to bits but I'll still kick you out if you put the family in danger like that again. Do I make myself clear?"

With tears swimming in their eyes the three nodded and muttered a watery "Yes, sir."

"Good." Shin sat down signaling the end of the public lesson part of their trial. With the lesson over and new rule established, the rest of the gang turned their attention to their own business and let Shin deal out the punishments in relative privacy. Shin waved the boys closer and started meting out the terms of their punishment.

"Dart, you're on grunt duty in the kitchen for the next two weeks for every meal. Any chore they want done, you're gonna do it. Got it?" Dart nodded, knowing he was getting off easy. He didn't mind kitchen duty all that much and his "Ma" worked there too. "Slip, you're doing laundry for the two weeks. And Tip, you've got baby duty." Tip made a face at his assignment and Slip elbowed him in the ribs. "Ok." He said grudgingly, resigning himself to his fate of diapers and bawling babies for the next two weeks.

"Alright guys, my part of your punishment is taken care of. Now you've gotta go meet up with your moms and find out what the rest is going to be." Duo felt kinda bad for the three boys, but they had brought the whole thing on themselves and deserved whatever other punishment they got. In his peripheral vision, Duo saw Shadow and Skif wince slightly when the three boys turned and walked away. He turned his head to look at his second and his boyfriend.

"What? Why the wince? Do you think I was too hard on them?"

"No, you were fine. I just wouldn't want to be in their shoes when their moms get hold of them." Shadow had the tone of kids everywhere when talking about 'Mommy punishments.'

Utter Terror.

//I feel really bad for Slip.// Skif signed. //Mom hits _hard_ when she's mad, he won't be able to sit down until tomorrow.//

"Well, maybe this way they'll learn."

//True.//

Shin noticed that the gang was breaking up and leaving the room in groups or pairs, signaling the end of dinner with the shift changes of the Watchers. They were the first to leave every night so the Watchers on duty would get a bit of the dinner before it got cold. During the war Duo had taken advantage of regular shift changes on OZ bases too many times to not learn his lesson. Seemingly random shift changes at different times every day had saved them more than once from attacks.

"Alright boys, time to get your chores done. I'm going to go check on Ma and the babies before hittin' the hay. Let me know if anything comes up." Shin got up and left, leaving the two boys to stare after him in contemplative silence. Shadow turned to Skif and raised an eyebrow to which Skif nodded quickly. And just like that, their plans for later were decided.

---

Duo had just finished getting undressed for bed and was in the process of pulling his lock picks and other items from his braid when there was a knock on his bedroom door. He knew Shadow probably had some questions about what had happened with Quatre earlier so he called out for the boy to enter, not turning around from putting his knives and other sharp, pointy things away on his dresser.

"Shin?" Shadows voice was soft, he was feeling a bit reluctant about bugging Shin about his past, but dangit, he wanted to know.

"Yeah? Come on in guys, and shut the door, this might take awhile." Shin was only wearing a pair of loose pants and still hadn't turned to face them so Shadow had a rare unobstructed view of Shin's tattoo. He knew there was a meaning behind the design but that wasn't what he'd come here to ask about. Putting the tattoo questions aside to ask at a later date, he decided to start on the ones he'd come to ask.

"Can we ask you about some stuff that's been bugging us?" Out of the corner of his eye he saw Skif give him an encouraging smile. Shin shrugged, making the bat wings look like they were trying to fly and turned to face the boys.

"Course you can. You know that anytime either of you want to talk you can come to me." He walked over and sat down on his bed, patting the mattress beside him in invitation. Shadow walked over and sat down next to Duo, grabbed hold of his braid and started playing with the tuft, running his fingers through it like he had when he was younger. It was a comforting action that grounded them both. Skif, being not quite as 'touchy' of a person as his boyfriend, settled for sitting on the bed and leaning against the wall nearest to Shadow.

"So, what is it that you wanted to know?" Duo asked, bracing himself for the worst.

"Well, we were just wondering… how did you know so much about Winner?"

Duo went still and for a moment debated whether or not to just say that they knew each other years ago and leave it at that, but he knew that when Shadow actually did find out the truth he would be really hurt that Duo hadn't told him the truth from the beginning. So instead he slumped a bit, sighed and pulled Shadow into a one armed hug.

"Well boys, I guess it's about time I told you what I used to do before I started the gang. I was going to wait until you were older but I guess this is as good a time as any." He paused to sigh and scoot back onto the bed until he was leaning against the wall. "Might as well get comfortable, this is going to be a long story.

"You see, it all started in AC 197 with a little thing called Operation Meteor…"

-End Chapter-

A/N: I am sooooo sorry about the wait. RL has just been kinda hectic lately. I've been working six to seven days a week and I just bought a house (Painting is fun but spiders have crossed the line from my minions to just plain Pains In The Butt!) and it's a bit of a fixer-upper cough.

I would like to take the time to thank my wonderful and beautiful and talented betas for putting up with me and my blabbering. The Amazing Meiface and Fei rule!

It might be a while (hopefully not as long as this one though) before I can get chapter six out. It won't be as long probably but it'll be a while. I've already got chapter seven written down on the comp so as soon as six is done we should be seeing a bit more action.

Just so you know, I have no intention of abandoning this story. This and the Bedlam's Bard/DBZ fic are my babies and I'm planning on seeing them through to the end. Plus I've got my two favorite chapters of the story later on already done and I can't wait to post them.

Till next time, hugs and squishes,

Kat

P.S. Check my profile page for a link to a pic of Duo's tattoo. Pay no attention to the butt (I can NOT draw butts) but I like how the rest of it turned out. Let me know what you think!

PPS, Please review! I really want to know what you guys think of how this chapter was; like it, don't like it, want me to shut up and write smaller authors notes? I'm easy, I'll take any sort of criticism….the constructive kind anyway!


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